Material-treating apparatus



H. H. C. GRONDAHL IIATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Nov. 13,- 1928. 1,691,058

Filec i July 31-, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 r 7 4 1 45 "5" i. fi ,fi z- 5-4 49 I u 0 u o o o a I 24 60 i a v Z l I L 7- Wren/0r mama/4m Nov. 13, 1928.. 1,6915058 H. H. c. GRONDAHL- ,MATETRIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed July :51, 1926 :s Sheets-Sheet mum/0 Hawk 60m Nov. 13, 1928.

. 1,691,058 H. H. C. GRONDAHL v IATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed July 51, 1926 :5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 13, 1928. v I v nmsnmmx cyms'r -m qeomzem o CHIGAQQ, Jimmie assrenen T0. rinse- Bani I I ELECTBIGOOKPAH, INQQBEORATED, or 110111;, N. aecnrnmhxcm or r a emwee seeama This invention relates to material treating which have been advanced into the proper An apparatus, and more partieularly to app?- position hy the oonveyors. Thereafter, the rat'ns for conveying and quenching. material: ride'v ioes may be lowered to a position forfuse fin connee'tion with' the'hoat treat- 'cleh'rfof-thematerialaiidaearrierona orane ment he eo i 1 elene; j i very eI i e i y p y e.

' Various types of apparatns have been ernreniove thematerials froin the 'eonveyorff 00 ployed fo the purpose ofcqnvleyin'gl materl-o These and other objects of the invention al s through fnrnaees, ovens and and willhe'mor'e' apparent from the followin for subsequently conveying such materialsdetailed description and incoimection wit 1 into a loath of Cooling or"quenching unetheaecompan in draivingsfivherein Many of these conveying and quenching F ig. I is'a-sideelevationalview of one devices have been desii ned to' handle par elnboclinient of the imprqvedeonveying and ticular types of inaterla ls. Thus, for quenching ap'paratusj l ample; to effectively handle s ch materials, Fig/21s an end elevational yiew of the I was large metallic sheets or l rva; shallow drivingje nd oftheapparatus'shMY n in'F-iI pans's11 porting materiahwhi 'must be 1 'di's'closingfan arrangement bf the 1 6 suhjeet-e to a processof annealing ina mechenisnis; rna e, the conv ying en quen h n e F g-"3 is {in enlarged slevationa'l v of paratu's to" he ernplo'yedisiihseqnenti'to the the elnteh controlrieohenisrnsas' shown iii annealin" P QCQS T mus e Pa ular i e-,

satisfaetoril handle these "ma ig'i' is a side elevational shown terials. Thep'os i tio n o 'tlie 'lnaterialsj after 'pai'tly ins'ection'of'thecontrol mechanism h y ave: b e re ev nr' nv y d ma li se n -'3'? from the furnace and subsequently quenched; F g. 5 is a fragmentary plan view disclos;

25 must be such that a suitable carrier apgpa- 'ing one 'pai'rhffconvflyor'devieeswith the rat11s, sncli V the type disoloseddn my clhteh "control?mechanism removed tofditscopending applioationjserial No. 126,168, close parts otherwiseliiddenj 7 led July 31; 1926, may be conveniently-em; F1g1d6isa' vertiefaldongitudinfl sectional ployed to remove the inaterials from the viewtaken on the line 6 6 ofFigl 5; 30 conveyor. o I v Fig. 7 is 'a t1ians'verse vertieal sectional.

The primary objeet of. this invention is to vle vvofi a ir, o o0 eyor inits'l takeii on facilitat and'QXPGiitQ e han li g Q methe line 7 4? Fi 6 T Y terials subsequent to the heat treatment Fig.8" is'anenlarged detailed sectional thereof. h viewv iof the nppenpoi tion of the sprayer a In accordance with the eneral featnres of Clevioes as shovvii' in Fig. 7;, and the invention, one enibofin ent thereof in; Fig.9"isa fragmentary detailed'perspeceludes a lnrality of endless conveyors, eleo tiv'e VieW disclosing a stajek of ,me'tallio trically riven and positioned ad acent the .shee ssiipported' by a Conveyor tray 7 I J: v I I t openings 01. an anneal ng furnaee, which are tov a conveyor chaln o adapted to Withdraw annealed materials Refe'i'rin'gnow tothe dravvings wherein f from the furnace and toy convey these 'ma ililge nnrnerals have been used to designate terials into a position for qnenching. similar parts throughout the variolisfiguies clutch mechanism selectively operates eertaih it be observed that the pparatus in."

of e c n y rs d meanJ Ii -Pwv d d r hid s aphirality e i v y r n t's l e positively preventing the shifting "of the generallyby thenumerallo'eoniprising hp clutch elements while the conveyor driving right frarnes vvhich are niotinted ontheIOO mechanism is functionally operative. 'Thus floor ofpit 1 2 which is provided vvitha T e. gas t'oo eng ement th e ned erin 1 The ,ii fi h; me msm can n y be fece when p n of h 11 e i a d y the eleetrical source of power supply has throngh the screened floor. 14 andatftheir" n r m ed- Q e c in 0 s aye p d uppo w pa f ibs t'e y I vices are associatechwith' each. conveyor and disposed andi paced supports or channels are adapted to be yertmally adjnsted and 15. The'innerr nost chainnelsYlf support a" pos io foi f l y s'p' 'qyi g m r a Pa r tpemllel; a u a gilideilfi (Fie- 'o a,

which serve as a sliding support for a plurality of spaced inserts 18 which traverse and are secured to links 19 of Conveyor chains 20. These conveyor chains 20 reach between sprockets 22 which are mounted on a shaft 23 at the driving end of the apparatus (Fig. 6) and sprockets 24 (Fig. 1) suitably mounted at the opposite end of the apparatus. Positioned medially of the frames 11 directly beneath the guides 16 are a pair of channel members 26 (Fig. 7 which function similarly tothe guides 16 and serve to support the inserts 18 in thelower reach of the conveyor chain 20. It will be clear that the gnides 16 and the channel members 26 serve to prevent sagging of the conveyor chain 20 and likewise serve to retain and guide the chainjn its proper predetermined position.

The driving mechanism for the conveyor chain 20 includes an electric motor 27 which is suitably mounted within a pit 28 and forms a part of an electrical circuit 29 shown in Fig. 3. This motor 27 transmits power to a shaft 30 (Fig. 5) through the medium of suitable speed reduction gears and the shaft is connected with a clutch shaft 31 by means of a sprocket chain 32. The clutch shaft is mounted at its ends in bearing members 34 (Fig. 2) within the pit 28 and revolubly upon the shaft 31 adjacent each of mounted the bearing members 34 is a sprocket 35. The sprockets 35 are operatively connected with the shaft 23 by means of suitable chains 38. These sprockets 35 are formed integral with a. clutch member 36 which are adapted to be engaged by companion clutch members 37 keyed to and slidablyfmounted upon the shaft 31. Spaced upright bearing members 39 serve as additional bearing supports for the clutch shaft 31 and at their upper ends slidably support a shifter rod 40 whichis connected at each end to the slidable clutch members 37 by means of suitable forked members 42 depending therefrom. The

shifter rod 40 isadapted to be reciprocated by means of a vertically disposed control lever 43 which is pivoted at45 within an upright control support46 and is connected at its lower extremity with the shifter rod At the upper end of the central support 46 is a clutch control mechanism denoted generally by the numeral 49 (Figs. 2, 3, and 4). Thisclut'ch control mechanism 49 comprises a screw 50 threaded within a suitable bearing 51 provided at thei-upper extremity of the support 46. One end of the screw 50termin ates in a locking pin 53 while the other end of the screw supports a hand wheel 54. secured thereto. When the hand wheel 54 is in the position shown in Fig. 4

with its inner face abutting the end of the bearing51, the lock pin 53 of the screw 50 will project or lie within the path of the a conventional double push button electrical switch 57 which is connected within the circult 29. A hinged cover plate 59 having a cam surface 60 provided at the upper end thereof is adaptedto be swung into and out of covering relationship with respect to the face of the switch 57.. A pin 61 carried by the cover 59 is adapted to engage the lower button of the switch 57 when said cover member is moved to its covering position as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The engagement of the pin 61 with the lower button of the switch 57 which is in series with the electrical circuit 29 containing the motor 2'? causes the opening of the circuit and in order to reclose the circuit the cover 59 must be swung open so as to render possible the manual operation of the upper button. of the switch 57. Pivoted at the point 63 immediately above one corner of the cover 591 (Fig. 3) is a latch 64, the upper wheel 54 to be moved outwardly away from the bearing member 51 when the latch is in its lowermost position. When the hand wheel 54 is in the position shown in Fig. 4 the latch 64 is free to be moved upwardly and thus when the cover 59 is swung outwardly by grasping a knob 65 provided thereon, the cam surface 60'will engage with the underside ofthe latch 64 and cause said latch to be urged upwardly. However, when the hand wheel is moved to a position superimposing the latch 64, it will be imsurface 7 of which is curved so as to permlt the hand possible to swing the cover 59 outwardlyby I reason of the engagement of its cam surface 69 with the latch '64. In this connection it is also to be observed that the cover 59 must be completely closed and the latch 64 completely lowered in order .to permit the. 7

hand wheel 54 to retract the pin 53. 7

From the foregoing it will be clear that by means of this control. mechanism 49 the control lever 43 can never be operated while the motor 27 is functionally operative or in other words the control lever 43 can only be. operated when the lock pin is in its rctracted position. This condition can only exist when the cover 59 occupies the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and while it occupies this position the electrical source of power willbe cut off. It will be clear that the hand wheel 54 can never be withdrawn when the cover 59 is swung away having a plurality the pulleys 79 from the. switch 57.- The latch 64 not only serves to prevent the actuation of the cover 59,. but also serves to prevent the outward movement of the hand wheel 54 whenthe cover is swung open. The importance of this construction will be more readily ap ii functionally operative.

In parallelism with the side of each con-.

veyor unit are quenching or spraying de vices 67 which comprise'horizontal' pipes 68, of perforations 69 (Fig. 8) formed therein. These pipes 68 are slidably mounted at spaced intervals by means of vertical guide supports 71 and are provided with an intake coupling 72 which is connected with a suitable source of water v supply (not shown) by means of a suitable valve 73 (Fig. 6). The pipes 68 may be readily raised and lowered by the manipulation of a crank 75, which when rotated, operates capstans' 76. These capstans 76 are connected with thelower I supports 71 by means of suitable cables 77 which pass over pulleys 79 mounted at the side of theconveyor units 10. To facilitate the raising of the pipes .68. counterweights 80 are over which the cables 77 pass. From the disclosure it will be apparent that the operation of the crank 7 9 will cause the raising or devices 67.

In the operation of the apparatus material such as metallic sheets 81 as shown in Fig. 9, stacked upon a suitable conveyor tray 83 when positioned within an annealing furnace 84, may be coupled with one of the links of the conveyor chain by means of a suitable detachable connecting member 86. The hand wheel 54 is rotated so as to retractthe lock pin 53 and the control lever 43 is actuated so as to effect the engagement of one oflthe clutch members 37 with its companion driven clutch member 36. At this point it is to be understood that each of the combined clutch members 36 and'37 serves to independently operate two conveyor units 10. The hand wheel can then be. operated to carry the lock pin into its projected position and the control lever 43 thus positively pre vented from being returned to its neutral position. The cover 59 can now be opened and the upper starting button of the switch 57 actuated to close the circuit 29 including the motor 27. The sheets 81 are advanced from the furnace along the upper surfaces of the supporting channels 15 toward'the driven by a motor ca of the sprayer device 6'? and ends of the provided which tend to rotate I lowering of two sets of spraying rality of conveyor units for handling 'will of course be apparent that two, sets of conveyor chains 20 may be operated SIRE/[1* taneously and two stacks of materials thus simultaneously ing furnace 84. The crank isnow turned so as toicausethe elevation of" the pipes 68' when: the proper elevation has been reached the valve 7311's opened; Water or other quenching medium passes through the perforations 69 in the pipes '68 and isdirected upon the sheets 81. IVater whichv passes through the screened floor 14 falls into the pit 12 and is carried off to a suitable drain 88 (Fig. 6) and when the sheets have been sufliciently quenched the pipes 68 areagain lowered. A carrier mechanism such as the type disclosed in my copending application, Serial N 0. 126,168, filed July 31, 1926, may nowbe lowered into positionand carried into engagement with the of the sheets 81 along the with the conveying means comprising a hori-' zontally disposed sprayer, andmeans for vertically adjusting the position of the sprayer with respect to the material.

3. In material treating apparatus, a con veyor unit for handling eluding a horizontally disposed endless conveying means, and means for coupling the conveying means with means for driving the conveying means, means for quenching, material associated with the. conveying means comprising an elongated fluid sprayer, and means for elevating the sprayer into operative position above the material and for lowering the sprayer to clear the material.

4. In material treating apparatus, a pluheated materials, each including endless conveying; means, .means for driving the conveying means, means for quenching material asso ciated with the conveying means, and operable to selectively cause the certain of the conveying means.

5. In material treating apparatus, a plu-- rality of conveyor units for handling heated material, each including an endless conveying means, means for driving, the conveying actuation of withdrawn from the annealheated materials in heated materials,

meansmaterial quenching means associated With each unit, means for adjustably positioning the quenching means With respect to the materials associated With each .0011- veyor unit, and means operable to selectively cause the actuation of certain of the conveying means. a

6. In material treating apparatus, a plurality of conveyor units, each including an endless horizontally disposed conveyor, means for driving the conveyors, means for supporting and guiding the conveyors in predetermined paths, means positioned at each side of the conveyors for supporting material, quenching means associated with each conveyor unit including a horizontally disposed sprayer adapted to be vertically adjusted With respect to the materials associated With the conveyor units, means for simultaneously adjusting a plurality of the sprayers, and means operable to selectively cause the actuation of certain of the conveyors.

In witness whereofil hereunto subscribe 7 my name this 17th day of July A. D., 1926.

HANS HENRIK CHRISTIAN GRONDAHL. 

